Owen Pallett aka Final Fantasy

Although five years old, Owen Pallett’s sophomore album, He Poos Clouds–released under Pallet’s former artistic name, Final Fantasy–can never become outdated. It’s a great way to encounter Pallett for the first time. This is in part true because his most memorable songs are in this record. This work is made up of ten songs, which consist of string quartet arrangements; Pallett plays violin, organ, viola, harpsichord, piano, bass and sings.

Though you might think this record is a classical work, you have to keep in mind that this is a contemporary artist whose first artistic pseudonym is the title of a famous role playing video game, and that eight out of the ten songs in this record interpret the eight schools of magic found in the role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons. With that in mind, you also have to realize that some of the material in it would be rated mature content, if it were a video game — mainly due to the curse words and some of the story lines.

I am not sure what genre Pallett’s work falls into, but I’ve always classified his music as experimental pop because he layers parts over one another. Not knowing what to classify his music as or how he makes these layers work so great together is what essentially brings me back to this album over and over again. What makes this work so accessible is Pallett’s genius string arrangements, and witty storytelling, even if the theme is a role playing game you’ve never played.